The Courage to Ask

You might not know that I’m a big basketball fan. Along with the UFC, it’s the sport I follow the most. So, every once in a while I’ll find interesting lessons that apply to my “better your best” mindset. For example, during this year’s playoffs Isaiah Thomas, point guard of the Boston Celtics, reached out to NBA legend Kobe Bryant for some help on studying film. Kobe Bryant, as we’ve seen before, was obsessive about offense and defense during his playing days and is one of the reasons why he’s an all-time great.

What it means is he understands that being obsessive is a difference maker, a path to greatness. And not everyone is willing to get out of their comfort zone, to ask and learn from the best of the best.

But not everyone wants to be great; Isaiah does because he had to courage to ask. Most players and people don’t have that growth mindset, the mentality of bettering your best:

Oprah Winfrey has a great quote about asking for help: “You get in life what you have the courage to ask for.”

It’s sounds simple, but people have a hard time asking for help because they believe that asking for help is a sign of weakness; it’s not. It’s a sign of strength, of having curiosity and a growth mindset. For example, one of the reasons I started writing a blog 9 years ago is because it would be a conduit for me to ask and explore questions with other people of all walks of life from around the world. It had nothing to do with marketing; I just like to learn.